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The Luftig laboratory studies viruses that cause cancer, with an overarching goal of defining the basic molecular mechanisms underlying pathogenesis. The lab leverages findings for diagnostic value and therapeutic intervention. The primary focus is on the common herpesvirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which latently infects virtually all adults worldwide and is acquired early in life. In immune-suppressed individuals, EBV promotes lymphomas in B cells and can also infect epithelial cells and lymphocytes, contributing to various human cancers including nasopharyngeal and gastric carcinoma, as well as aggressive NK/T-cell, Burkitt, and Hodgkin lymphomas. Overall, EBV is responsible for 2% of human cancers globally, leading to approximately 200,000 deaths annually. The lab employs cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary, highly collaborative approaches to characterize the temporal dynamics of single-cell heterogeneity in EBV infection. Through various strategies, the lab aims to discover fundamental molecular circuits that underpin transcriptional control, viral manipulation of host signaling pathways, and metabolic regulation that collectively influences the fate decisions of infected cells. By understanding the nature of viral control in infected host cells, the lab seeks to uncover vulnerabilities in EBV-associated diseases and to characterize new therapeutic interventions using cell-based pre-clinical animal models.
Department of Biomedical Engineering (MS program)